
The Latinamerican economy is forecasted to contract 2.6% this year according to the latest estimates from the International Monetary Fund, with Mexico showing the worst performance plummeting 7.3% in 2009.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is to lead mediation to resolve the political crisis in Honduras. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement in Washington after meeting ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

Ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya was scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday, as the country's political crisis talks moved to Washington.

Bolivia is considering temporarily closing part of its extended border with Argentina, (773 kilometres long), because of the outbreak and quick spread of the A/H1N1 virus flu in that country, anticipated Health minister Ramiro Tapia over the weekend.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN) last week identified a “Red List” of nearly 17,000 plant and animal species in danger of disappearance, and 800 species already extinct.

The conservative National Action Party (PAN) of Mexican President Felipe Calderon has admitted defeat in mid-term congressional elections. It acknowledged that the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will dominate the Lower House.

Honduras's ousted President, Manuel Zelaya failed on Sunday in a dramatic attempt to fly back to his country. His plane circled the Tegucigalpa airport, but it could not land as the authorities had blocked the runway.

Bolivia, Brazil and Chile have announced that the inter-oceanic corridor, from the Atlantic to the Pacific will be finished by 2011. The announcement was made following an assessment of the different legs of the corridor during a meeting in La Paz, Bolivia between the Public Works ministers of the three countries.

In spite of its misfortune or long standing mismanagement in the US, General Motors Corp. has built a thriving powerhouse operation in Latin America, where its fuel-efficient vehicles are playing a crucial role in returning the battered company to health.

Venezuela has taken formal control of its third largest bank, the previously Spanish-owned Banco de Venezuela. The first instalment of a 630 million US dollars price tag was made amid much ceremony in the capital Caracas, with nearly all the shares passing to the government.